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Dictionarycalorieenergy unit
noun

calorie

KAL-uh-ree/ˈkæləri/

A unit for measuring energy in food or heat.

The apparatus measures the food's energy in calories.

A simple scientific food calorimeter: food sample below metal chamber, water thermometer; no invented scales or labels.
Etymology
calorieFrenchunit of heat

French calorie named a heat unit measured by warming water. In food measurement, the calorie is the larger unit—the kilocalorie—connecting nutritional energy with the heat needed to warm a kilogram of water.

In context

Andrew Huberman9:20
So a calorie just refers to a unit of energy, of heat specifically. And so what does that have to do with food?
The Science of Eating for Health, Fat Loss & Lean Muscle | Dr. Layne Norton

More examples

  • A calorie is a unit of energy.
  • The experiment measured the heat in calories.
  • She compared the calorie content of the two snacks.

Forms

calorie · calories

Similar words

joule
A joule is the standard SI energy unit; calorie is a different energy unit with small and food-calorie conventions.
watt
A watt measures energy transfer per unit time; a calorie measures an amount of energy.